Son's Mile PR (Read 1020 times)

My son, 15, won both his races tonight at a local meet. Last week, he PR'd in the mile at 4:52, and tonight he ran it in 4:49. He also won the two-mile race, but it wasn't a PR - he almost didn't run it, he was so tired from the mile. He's still a sophomore, so he should keep getting faster. We're thinking about sending him to an XC camp in North Carolina this summer, to humble him a little! He's kind of a big fish in a little pond in Maine, to say the least.

Awesome. Just awesome.
Now one piece of unsolicited advice, but its pretty good: do everything in your power to make his running talent not a short-term thing, or a means to an end ... but a lifelong journey.
I'd give a lot to go back to 15 and run every day, for the joy of it. And I could never run like that.

Thanks, guys! I appreciate the advice, too. My husband and I are trying our best to support him and make sure he doesn't burn out. I can tell he loves running because we never have to bug him to go for a run - he goes out on his own. I will definitely remember your advice, Jake!
The main area I need to improve in is nutrition - it's hard to get enough good-quality calories into the boy! I went to a seminar on feeding teenaged athletes and realized I've got to do a better job. He's a very picky eater, which doesn't help.
And at least now I understand what he's talking about when he mentions tempo, fartleks, long runs, etc.! He tells me what I should be doing to improve, too. It's a lot of fun.
Have a great weekend! It's good for running in Maine today.
Teresa

run4fun8910

posted: 1/12/2008 at 11:54 AM

Congratulations. I can not even imagine running sub 5 mile let alone a sub 10 min mile.
I like that you are encouraging something he loves. I have seen many parents push a kid to do something that they do not like. :-)

Short term goal: 5K
Long term goal: half marathon.
Stay injury free.
Shawn

My son, 15, won both his races tonight at a local meet. Last week, he PR'd in the mile at 4:52, and tonight he ran it in 4:49. He also won the two-mile race, but it wasn't a PR - he almost didn't run it, he was so tired from the mile. He's still a sophomore, so he should keep getting faster. We're thinking about sending him to an XC camp in North Carolina this summer, to humble him a little! He's kind of a big fish in a little pond in Maine, to say the least.

That's very good for a 15 year old. I think it would be good to send him to a camp or show him some high school running on the internet. While 4:49 is good for a sophomore it isn't amazing. Last year in track I saw one of my friends who was a sophomore lose a JV race when he ran 4:50. I've never seen a varsity track race won in anything over 4:30. You're son has some talent and can be very good if he continues to work at it but make sure he knows there are a lot of better runners outside of Maine and he has to work his butt off to be better than them.

Congrats. That's a great time.
I am always thinking of new ways to keep my 13 yr old daughter motivated so as not to burn her out.
I want her to enjoy running for a long time, so far so good. Her best mile is 5:32.
I wish your son luck in the future.
. . . .Nice motivation Mike . . . .